StageWest opens its season Friday with a production of 'Next to Normal,' with Kellie Kramer, left, and Kelly Schaefer are double cast in the lead role. / Special to the Register

Written by

1. Hitch up your smarty pants, folks: It’s lecture season again. The filmmaker Paul H-O (for Hasegawa-Overacker) visits the Des Moines Art Center at 1:30 p.m. today to introduce his documentary “Guest of Cindy Sherman,” about his rocky relationship with the artist known worldwide for making thousands of disguised self-portraits. He’ll take the film to Simpson College for a similar screening at 7 p.m. Tuesday at the Carver Science Center on the Indianola campus. Both events are free. ... The printmaker Favianna Rodriguez speaks about artists’ role in shaping public opinion about politics, immigration and social equality at 8 p.m. Tuesday at Iowa State University’s Memorial Union in Ames. Free. www.lectures.iastate.edu

2. Now in its sixth year, the Landfall Festival of World Music is more varied than ever. The concerts crank up Tuesday through Saturday in downtown Cedar Rapids, with top-notch acts from Mongolia, Finland, Ukraine, Corsica, Ghana, Poland and Brazil. There’s even Christine Salem (pictured) from tiny Reunion Island in the Indian Ocean. Suggested admission to each weeknight show is $10, but the finale from 11 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Saturday in Greene Square Park is free. For video clips and the full schedule, see www.legionarts.org

3. The annual Maximum Ames Music Festival returns for its third go-round Thursday through Sept. 29, featuring more than 120 acts at 20 venues in Ames. The British invasion band The Zombies and Iowans Greg Brown and Bo Ramsey co-headline the festival, with The Meat Puppets, Murder by Death, The Hood Internet, Lipstick Homicide, The Pines, Obsidian’s Dream and others performing. Show prices vary. www.maximumames.com

4. The Manhattan Short Film Festival’s new batch of finalists (including “Black Metal,” pictured) is heading to the Des Moines Art Center. The two-hour program of 10 films, culled from 628 entries from 48 countries, will be screen­ed three times: at 6:30 p.m. Friday, 1:30 p.m. Sept. 29 and 6:30 p.m. Oct. 4. Viewers will help choose the winner. Free, but reservations are recommended. www.desmoinesartcenter.org

5. StageWest opens its season Friday with a production of “Next to Normal,” the hard-charging musical about a mom’s struggle with a bipolar disorder and its effects on her family. (Pictured: Kellie Kramer, left, and Kelly Schaefer are double cast in the lead role.) Performances start at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday and 3 p.m. Sunday through Oct. 13 at the Stoner Theater. $25-$30, with half-price rush seats on Wednesday. www.stagewestiowa.com

6. Saxman Joshua Redman brings his quartet to the Civic Music Association’s new season at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Drake University’s Sheslow Auditorium. Go 45 minutes early for the pre-concert talk or really early, at 3 p.m., for a free masterclass at Drake’s Turner Jazz Center. $20-$48, with $10 rush seats for students. www.civicmusic.org